BWW Interview: Lauren Yee & Jim Kleinmann of PLAYGROUND ZOOM FEST Celebrate the Development of New Works
PlayGround, San Francisco's renowned theatre development lab, is currently in the midst of hosting the nation's largest fully digital new play festival, PlayGround Zoom Fest. Already running and continuing through June 14, 2020, the ambitious five-week online event gathers leading voices in American Theatre including Lauren Yee, Jonathan Spector, Aaron Loeb, Geetha Reddy, Kent Nicholson, acclaimed actors, theatre journalists, designers, and more from across the country, to present and discuss a panoply of new works and celebrate PlayGround's 25th anniversary. BroadwayWorld caught up this week with PlayGround's Artistic Director Jim Kleinmann and the much-in-demand playwright Lauren Yee in separate phone conversations. Yee is just coming off a huge success with the New York run of her newest play, Cambodian Rock Band. She participated in PlayGround's Writers Pool as a young playwright and will be part of the festival's Zoom Town Hall panel on June 8th.
Photo Flash: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Northern California Premiere of Laurel Ollstein's They Promised Her the Moon. This riveting play shares the incredible, true story of Jerrie Cobb, a world record-holding female aviator who dreamt of flying among the stars. At the height of the Space Race, Cobb and her female peers in the Mercury 13 program trained to become astronauts, ready to join their male counterparts in space and change history, but they never got the chance.
Story Of Earliest Female Astronaut THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON Announced At TheatreWorks
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Northern California Premiere of Laurel Ollstein's They Promised Her The Moon. This riveting play shares the incredible, true story of Jerrie Cobb, a world record-holding female aviator who dreamt of flying among the stars. At the height of the Space Race, Cobb and her female peers in the Mercury 13 program trained to become astronauts, ready to join their male counterparts in space and change history, but they never got the chance. A favorite from TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 2018 New Works Festival, They Promised Her The Moon will be directed by TheatreWorks Artistic Associate and Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli.
YOGA PLAY at San Francisco Playhouse this Spring
San Francisco Playhouse announced casting for Dipika Guha's Yoga Play. This will be its second production following the world premiere during South Coast Rep's Pacific Playwrights Festival. Bill Englishwill direct.
Free Political Forum To Follow Performance Of FROST/NIXON At TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announces a special post-show political forum for its production of the Tony and Olivier Award-nominated drama Frost/Nixon. Following the 2pm performance of Frost/Nixon on Saturday, February 2 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, audiences are invited to discuss the history and current relevance of the Watergate scandal with Dr. Theodore Glasser of Stanford University and Dr. Terri Bimes of University of California Berkeley in a conversation moderated by Cameron Wells, the assistant director of Frost/Nixon. Glasser, a professor emeritus of Communication whose research specializes in media practices and press accountability, and Bimes, a lecturer and Assistant Director of Research for the Institute of Governmental Studies who teaches about the presidency, will bring their unique perspectives to this free political forum, open to audience members and community members.
Photo Flash: First Look At FROST/NIXON At Theatreworks Silicon Valley
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will kick off the new year with the Tony and Olivier Award nominated drama Frost/Nixon. Written by Golden Globe winner Peter Morgan (creator of Netflix's The Crown), Frost/Nixon is a riveting political prizefight where the cameras roll, the truth spins, and it becomes clear that he who controls the medium controls the message. With America caught in the riptides of Watergate and Vietnam, the former leader of the free world and a lightweight British talk-show host clash in a legendary series of TV interviews that will determine the President's legacy forever. Directed by Leslie Martinson, Frost/Nixon will be presented January 16 - February 10, 2019 (press opening: January 19, 2019) at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
FROST/NIXON Comes to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will kick off the new year with the Tony and Olivier Award nominated drama Frost/Nixon. Written by Golden Globe winner Peter Morgan (creator of Netflix's The Crown), Frost/Nixon is a riveting political prizefight where the cameras roll, the truth spins, and it becomes clear that he who controls the medium controls the message. With America caught in the riptides of Watergate and Vietnam, the former leader of the free world and a lightweight British talk-show host clash in a legendary series of TV interviews that will determine the President's legacy forever. Directed by Leslie Martinson, Frost/Nixon will be presented January 16 February 10, 2019 (press opening: January 19, 2019) at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
TheatreWorks Will Kick Off New Year with FROST/NIXON
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will kick off the new year with the Tony and Olivier Award nominated drama Frost/Nixon. Written by Golden Globe winner Peter Morgan (creator of Netflix's The Crown), Frost/Nixon is a riveting political prizefight where the cameras roll, the truth spins, and it becomes clear that he who controls the medium controls the message.
Cal Shakes Opens 2017 Season with AS YOU LIKE IT
Director Desdemona Chiang makes her Cal Shakes debut, infusing Shakespeare's romantic comedy with the vibrant, complicated, and shifting energy of the Bay Area. Berkeley, CA, April 26 - California Shakespeare Theater begins its 43rd Season with Shakespeare's gender-bending comedy, As You Like It. In director Desdemona Chiang's all new production, adaptable and resilient Rosalind must leave everything she knows behind to find her true family.
BWW Review: Marin Theatre Presents a Regal ANNE BOLEYN
Like its title queen, Howard Brenton's 'Anne Boleyn' knocks at curiosity's door, difficult to grasp, but fascinating nonetheless. Henry VIII nearly erased the historical figure from the books, with religious leaders and historians labeling Anne a martyr or a harlot over the years. In his revised history, Brenton offers a strong, clever Boleyn, the effective and vibrant Liz Sklar in Marin Theatre Company's West Coast Premiere. This Anne loves a tender Henry and considers herself an Esther positioned for 'such a time as this.' But Brenton also bookends his play with a mocking Anne who concludes her lengthy tale in an abrupt, contrived message disconnected from preceding material. Where 'Boleyn' works best, however, is in its politics and religion, and it's a shame its final scene only briefly references that which an overall smart script has built.